Percussion-fuse.



E. SCHNEIDER.

PERGUSSION FUSE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 31, 19111 PatentedJan.9,1912.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPHICOUWASHINGTON D I:

E. SCHNEIDER.

PERCUSSION FUSE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 31, 1911.

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EUGENE SCHNEIDER, OF LE CREUZOT, FRANCE.

PERCUSSION-FUSE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9.1912.

Application filed August 31, 1911. Serial No. 647,050.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE SCHNEIDER, of Le Creuzot, Saone-et-Loire, France, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Percussion-Fuses, which is fully set forth in the following specification.

The present invention has reference to a percussion fuse which is provided in the known manner with a safety device comprising loose segments that are held together in the normal condition, or condition of repose, by a peripheral spring and which are intended to separate under the influence of centrifugal force so as to release the plunger or percussion pellet after firing the projectile from the gun.

The invention has for its object a device which is intended to overcome the inertia of the segments and to facilitate at the proper moment their separation under the influence of centrifugal force, the said device also operating to retain the segments in the cooked position, that is to say to prevent them from again coming together when once they have become separated. For this purpose I provide upon a fixed portion of the fuse, tenons or snugs engaging in corresponding grooves in the various segments which are intended to separate under the influence of centrifugal force. These tenons form guiding and driving members for the said segments at the commencement of the action of the centrifugal force but shortly after this force has begun to act, the grooves in the segments during the shifting of the latter toward the periphery escape from the tenons, whereupon the separated segments become independent of the rotary movement of the fuse body and relative circumferen tial displacement can take place between them and the tenons, so that the latter then come behind a solid portion of the segments and prevent them from again approaching the center; the segments are thus maintained by the tenons in the cooked or displaced position.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the invention applied by way of example to a fuse provided with members for locking the segments both normally and during the acceleration, these members how ever form no part of the present invention and may be dispensed with in certain cases.

Figures 1 and 2 show the fuse respectively in sectional elevation on the line A A of Fig. 2 and in sectional plan on the line B B of Fig. 1, the parts being represented in the normal position or positions of repose. Figs. 8 and 4 are similar views showing the parts in the position they occupy while the proj ectile is moving along the gun barrel. Figs. 5 and 6 show the fuse respectively in sectional elevation on the line A A in Fig. 6 and in sectional plan on the line B B in Fig. 5 with the parts in the position they occupy after the projectile has finished its acceleration.

1 designates the fuse body, 2 the striker and 7 the plunger or percussion pellet carrying the priming 13. This plunger is guided in the plug 3 of the base of the fuse and in a socket 8 projecting inwardly from the forward end of the fuse body.

5 designates the segments which in the example shown are four in number; these segments are prevented from moving in either direction lengthwise of the fuse, rearward movement being prevented by the plug 3 and forward movement by the socket 8 and its flange 11 which may form part of an adjustable nut. Normally the said segments are held together in the known manner and engage in a groove 14 in the plunger by the influence of a spring 6 coiled in a peripheral groove 15 in the segments.

Projecting from the rear face of the socket S and the nut rigidly connected therewith, are tenons 12 corresponding in number to that of the segments 5. Each of these tenons engage in a radial groove 16 in one of the segments. The size of these tenons is slightly less than the radial movement the segments are capable of performing as represented by the distance between their outer edges and the inner wall of the fuse body. It follows from this arrangement that the segments 5 first of all participate in the movement of rotation of the fuse body under the influence of the tenons 12. The known safety devices constituted say by the ring 4 for locking the parts in the normal position and by the spring ring 9-10 for locking the parts during the acceleration, release the segments 5 at the end of the acceleration. Centrifugal force then acts instantly upon the segments 5 guided by the tenons 12. On separating, the said segments escape from the tenons and immediately perform an angular displacement rel atively to the latter and thus assume the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The grooves 16 being then no longer opposite the tenons 12 the latter prevent the segments from coming together again and also prevent them from impeding the displacement of the plunger 7, if a lateral shock should occur at the moment of impact.

It will be understood that the arrangement described above might be reversed, that is to say, the guidance between the segments and the fuse body might be obtained by means of radial ribs projecting from the segments and escaping from grooves in the socket 8 for example, the subsequent relative displacement preventing unintentional return of the segments toward the center.

l/Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a fuse, the combination of a casing or body, a plunger and a percussion cap, a plurality of segments normally locked and engaging said plunger and radially movable under the influence of centrifugal force, a stationary guiding member for each seg ment having a lateral clearance associated therewith, a corresponding guiding member on each segment and means automatically releasing each segment whereby it moves radially out of engagement with said stationary member and laterally through said clearance out of alinement therewith.

2. In a fuse, the combination of a casing or body, a plunger and a percussion cap, a plurality of segments normally locked and. engaging said plunger and radially movable under the influence of centrifugal force, a stationary guiding member for each segment between which member and casing there is a clearance, a corresponding guiding member on each segment, and means automatically releasing each segment whereby it moves radially out of engagement with said stationary member and laterally through said clearance out of alinement therewith.

3. In a fuse, the combination of a casing or body, a plunger and a percussion cap, a plurality of segments normally locked and engaging said plunger and radially movable under the influence of centrifugal force, a stationary guiding member for each segment shorter than. the extent of radial movement of said segments and having a lateral clearance associated therewith, a corresponding guiding member on each segment and means automatically releasing each segment where by it moves radially out of engagement with said stationary member and laterally through said clearance out of alinement therewith.

4. In a fuse, the combination of a casingor body, a plunger and a percussion cap, a plurality of segments normallylocked and engaging said plunger and radially movable under the influence of centrifugal force and each of said segments being provided with a guiding groove, a stationary tenon for each segment connected with said casing and engaging in said groove and having a clearance therebetween and said casing, and means automatically releasing each segment whereby it moves radially out of engagement with said stationary member and laterally through said clearance out of alinement therewith.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EUGENE SCHNEIDER.

Witnesses DEAN B. MASON, R. DE SEVELINZER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

